THE education watchdog has praised a Bradford district college for making "significant progress" since its last inspection.

Ofsted inspectors visited Shipley College in October 2023 and published their report in January this year, with the setting judged as 'requires improvement' overall.

Last month, Ofsted inspectors carried out a monitoring visit of the college in Victoria Road, Saltaire.

On the back of that, they have now published a report which said a number of improvements had been made. 

January's report said staff "provide information on the risks of radicalisation and extremism" - but "most learners cannot recall this information well enough".

It said the college needed to "ensure that staff reinforce learners’ understanding about the risks of radicalisation and extremism to help commit the information to learners’ long-term memory".

According to the monitoring visit report, "significant progress" had been made in this area.

"Leaders and managers have taken very effective action to ensure that students know how to identify and stay safe from the risks of radicalisation and extremism," it said.

"Students and apprentices have a thorough understanding of these topics. 

"They can describe fully and accurately what radicalisation is and how grooming often happens slowly over time. 

"They understand what might make people vulnerable to radicalisation and the signs that may indicate that someone is being radicalised."

The report said college leaders had also made "significant progress" in taking "swift and decisive actions to improve the quality and consistency of their provision, including the quality of teaching".

Meanwhile, "reasonable progress" had been made in providing learners with helpful careers information, advice and guidance, as well as ensuring that young people benefit from relevant and meaningful work experience.

Diana Bird, principal at Shipley College, said: "We are pleased that Ofsted has recognised the outstanding work we are doing to develop our students as Bradford’s employees of the future. 

"Our young students and apprentices achieve the highest success rates among all West Yorkshire colleges, and that is a testament to the dedication and passion of my teaching staff and the invaluable support of our employer partners. 

"By working together, we’ve designed an environment and curriculum that prepares our students to achieve their dreams and succeed in life and work.

"Building upon the significant progress made since our last inspection, we remain committed to our mission to empower individuals, create opportunities for all, and build a brighter future for our Bradford city region."